In short
The most common main activity of Moldovan companies is cereal growing, with almost 10,000 active companies. Next come neighbourhood grocery stores, with 8,500, and trade intermediation, with 4,800. Custom software is in ninth place with 2,578 companies, a single SRL behind bars, and climbs every year.
We counted all 155,570 active companies in the state register by their declared main activity. Each company appears once, under the first registered CAEM code (Moldova's NACE-based activity classifier).
A technical detail before the table
The register uses two editions of the CAEM classifier. Companies registered before 2010 have codes from the old edition, five digits (52.110 for a grocery store), while newer ones have codes from the current edition, four digits (47.11 for the same store). We merged old and new codes that describe the same activity. How the codes are read and what differs between editions is explained in the CAEM guide.
Top 30 main activities
| # | Activity | Active companies | CAEM codes included |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Growing of cereals and field crops | 9,934 | 01.11, 01.100, 01.110, 01.111 |
| 2 | Non-specialised grocery stores | 8,540 | 47.11, 52.110 |
| 3 | Intermediation and contract-based wholesale | 4,788 | 51.100, 51.190 |
| 4 | Car repair and maintenance | 3,685 | 45.20, 50.200 |
| 5 | Road freight transport | 3,656 | 49.41, 60.240 |
| 6 | Wholesale of construction materials | 2,855 | 51.530, 46.73 |
| 7 | Business and management consulting | 2,700 | 70.22, 74.140 |
| 8 | Bars | 2,579 | 56.30, 55.400 |
| 9 | Custom software | 2,578 | 62.01 |
| 10 | Services for agriculture (contract field work) | 2,147 | 01.410 |
| 11 | Restaurants | 2,111 | 56.10, 55.300 |
| 12 | Building construction | 2,066 | 41.20, 45.200 |
| 13 | Hairdressing and beauty salons | 2,041 | 96.02, 93.020 |
| 14 | Retail on markets and stalls | 1,840 | 52.620 |
| 15 | Advertising | 1,719 | 73.11, 74.400 |
| 16 | Property management | 1,681 | 68.32 |
| 17 | Renting of own real estate | 1,505 | 70.200, 68.20 |
| 18 | Clothing stores | 1,432 | 52.420, 47.71 |
| 19 | Wholesale of food products | 1,395 | 51.300 |
| 20 | Accounting and audit | 1,362 | 69.20 |
| 21 | Real estate development and sale of own property | 1,361 | 41.10, 68.10 |
| 22 | Wholesale, unspecified | 1,221 | 51.000 |
| 23 | Real estate agencies | 1,038 | 68.31 |
| 24 | Online and mail-order retail | 999 | 47.91 |
| 25 | Wholesale of agricultural products | 876 | 51.200 |
| 26 | Other wholesale | 834 | 51.900 |
| 27 | Electricity generation | 736 | 35.11 |
| 28 | Specialised grocery stores | 683 | 52.200 |
| 29 | Car dealers | 666 | 45.11 |
| 30 | Other education (courses, private schools) | 651 | 85.59 |
What the table shows
Agriculture is bigger than it looks from the city
The 9,934 companies in cereal growing are mostly peasant farms in villages: of those with the new code 01.11, 4,100 are peasant farms and only 1,600 are SRLs. Likewise, the 2,150 companies with "services for agriculture" are almost all peasant farms working leased land. Together, agriculture accounts for 12,000 active companies, one in every thirteen companies in the country.
The corner shop holds on
8,500 non-specialised grocery stores, plus 1,850 market stalls, plus 750 clothing shops. The large chains, such as Moldretail (Linella) or Kaufland, are a single company each in this table, but employ thousands.
Wholesale is fragmented
Five positions in the top 30 are types of wholesale, more than 11,000 companies in total. Many are small importers with a single supplier, or intermediaries invoicing on behalf of a foreign partner.
Custom software has entered the top 10
2,578 active companies with code 62.01, of which 1,324 were registered from 2024 onwards and only 50 before 2015. In 2026 this code is the most frequent among new companies, with almost 400 registrations in eight months, as shown by the statistics on companies opened in 2026.
Solar power has created a new sector
736 companies have electricity generation (35.11) as their main activity. More than half of them, 395, were registered from 2024 onwards, and before 2019 there were fewer than 60. They are mostly small photovoltaic parks.
The main activity is not the only one
A company can declare several activities, and many declare dozens. If we count every code a company has in the register, not just the first, the picture changes:
| Declared activity (any) | Active companies that have it |
|---|---|
| 47.91 Online and mail-order retail | ~17,600 |
| 49.41 Road freight transport | ~17,100 |
| 52.110 Grocery stores (old code) | ~16,300 |
| 47.11 Grocery stores | ~14,200 |
| 46.19 Trade intermediation | ~14,100 |
| 46.90 Non-specialised wholesale | ~13,400 |
| 47.99 Retail outside stores | ~12,200 |
| 47.19 Non-food stores | ~12,000 |
| 70.22 Business consulting | ~11,600 |
| 56.30 Bars | ~11,500 |
Online retail is the most frequently declared code in the register, 17,600 companies, but only 1,000 have it as their main activity. Most added it "just in case". When you check a company, look at the first code and at what it actually does, not at the full list. What the other register data says, from founders to status, is in the guide to checking a company.
How to search companies by activity
On the search page you can filter companies by industry, region, legal form and status, and on each company's page you see all declared CAEM codes with their full name.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common activity of Moldovan companies?
Growing of cereals and field crops, with almost 10,000 active companies that have it as their main activity. Most of them are peasant farms.
How many grocery stores are registered in Moldova?
Approximately 8,500 active companies have retail in non-specialised stores with predominantly food products as their main activity. Another 1,850 market stalls come on top.
How many IT companies are there in Moldova?
Around 2,600 active companies have custom software (62.01) as their main activity. The whole CAEM section for information and communication, which also includes telecoms and media, has more than 7,000 active companies.
What do old and new CAEM codes mean?
The register keeps the codes of the classifier's old edition (five digits, for example 52.110) for companies registered before 2010, and the codes of the current edition (four digits, 47.11) for newer companies. They describe the same activities, just numbered differently.
Where does the data come from?
From the state register of the Republic of Moldova, updated on Datero.md. The count includes only companies with active status, as of 10 September 2026.
See all activities of a company
Each company page on Datero.md shows the declared CAEM codes, licensed activities and, for companies that file statements, financial data.